High-level matchup!

Lehecka is establishing himself as a player close to the top 10, while Ruud is looking for his best form, but we know that on clay, it’s never very far away.

I’ll start with Ruud, who is the better of the two on clay, without a shadow of a doubt. The Norwegian has had his best results on this surface, and we know that every season, no matter what his level is before the clay swing begins, you have to count on him.

His start to the clay season isn’t great, but he got injured in Monte Carlo. He had a good tournament in Madrid, but he lost to Blockx, which is still a poor result for a player like him. He has big ambitions this week in Rome, since it’s a tournament that generally suits him well. And at the same time, what’s better than some nice, fairly slow clay to allow him to lay out his game properly.

I don’t have much to say about his first-round match. He played well, but on the other side of the net there was an abyssal weakness on clay. This second round is all the more dangerous because Ruud is not really into his tournament yet, with only that quick win that looked almost more like a practice session. The level is going to go up suddenly, starting tomorrow.

Lehecka is establishing himself as a top player, no matter the surface, but he still has to prove himself on slower courts. Whenever it’s fast, we know we can rely on him, but once the surface slows down, it immediately gets more complicated. I wasn’t hugely convinced by his first round against Struff, and I think this week he won’t be playing his best tennis. The slowness of the courts does help him have time to set up his shots and his game, but on the other side, Ruud is not going to let him do that.

Ruud leads 2–0 in their head-to-head, but Lehecka wasn’t as strong back then. I think Lehecka has a monstrously good serve, as well as a natural power from the baseline that can really bother Ruud, who likes to have time. Both players will want to be very aggressive and proactive, especially on the forehand side. But according to the odds, Ruud is the clear favorite.